In order to quickly find a specific evaluation answer they are listed here with hyperlinks sorted by name.
Final Product
Somnium
Dom Ford
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 6
Matt Passmore
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 6
James Bedwell
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 6
Group
Questions 4 & 5
Question 7
Sunday 8 May 2011
Group - Evaluation (7)
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The preliminary task was one of the first pieces of narrative film any of us had done and so many things came as a surprise to us and there were many challenges.
What we immedietly found was how important planning and time management is as we quickly realized that time was slipping by quickly while we still didn't know the details of how we were to portray our story. As a result of this, our preliminary task was somewhat rushed but we ensured that on our main task we had plenty of time to get the footage we needed after having carefully planned what each shot is going to be.
We also discovered that we had a lot to learn when it came to continuity techniques. In our preliminary task we were required to include dialogue and the opening of a door. This seemed simple enough but we had to learn and employ techniques such as the 180 degree rule where in dialogue you must only turn the camera 180 degrees maximum from its starting position, otherwise the characters look like they're next to each other. Similarly, we had to take a lot of things into account when considering continuity, such as things like what foot the character stepped out of the previous frame on, the lighting, etc. Again, for our main task we ensured that we took these things into account in our planning.
In terms of the soundtrack we found that it was quite difficult to find a copyright-free soundtrack that would fit our piece, but it would also be too time consuming to compose our own. In light of this, some compromises had to be made in the soundtrack and we often found that, while we didn't find exactly what we were looking for, we did find some that worked just as well.
Preliminary Task with Evaluation Voiceover
Preliminary Task with Evaluation Voiceover
Monday 25 April 2011
JB - Evaluation (6)
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout the production of our coursework project we have picked up several skills using various pieces of technology.
We had to construct and organise our blog in such a way that it would be an asset to our production, rather than a burden. We learnt that, in fact, it was a very useful tool, and without it, our production may have not been organised so easily.
Presentation
In order to present our initial pitch, as well as audience research and research of conventional features of film openings, and more, we used an online presentation tool called Prezi which was more technologically advanced than traditional presentation software such as Microsoft Powerpoint.
We learnt that it would help us to present in a more interesting and structured way, which would help the viewers of the presentation to understand it and give us very helpful feedback, and in turn this ultimately would help us improve the final appearance of our production.
Filming
We also learnt the industrial conventions of filming. This includes everything from camera angles, to the settings inside the camera, to the framing of the shots, and more. We learnt that this is often a very time consuming process initially, but in the long-run it saves time and disappointment when we find that the footage we got is actually how we wanted it. The camera angles and techniques helped to convey the narrative of the film opening so they were important to consider. We learnt that the settings inside the camera were very important because they massively affected the appearance of the final footage – for example, we filmed some footage in the graveyard on different exposure and saturation levels to that of the footage in the woods, and we discovered that this gave the footage a very different feel to what we had intended. Fortunately, the camera we used (Nikon D90) gave us the freedom to change such settings, whereas on some, more basic cameras, these settings are unchangeable. Every other element of the footage in the graveyard was as we had planned, and luckily we were able to change the brightness and saturation in the editing software (Adobe Premiere) to similar levels to what we had intended, so not all was lost.
We learnt that the framing of the shots was very important to consider, including the 180 degree rule, the rule of thirds, deep and shallow focus and more, as these help to contribute to the continuity of the footage and help define what the audience actually pays attention to when watching the opening.
Editing
The editing software we used proved to be a very useful tool for us. We used it to produce and organise the sequence of shots we see in our preliminary task, as well as producing the animatic of our final opening, the rough cut, and finally the film opening.
Personally, I had used the software previously - but even so, I did not have as much experience in it as I had thought, so using the software to produce our media products was a learning curve for me. I learnt how to cut the clips to the desired length, how to rearrange the order of the footage, how to add a soundtrack and - perhaps most importantly – how to make the footage look like a continuous sequence. I also learnt how to fade footage in and out, how to add titles, and how to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue and saturation levels, to name a few.
Soundtrack
For the soundtrack, we discovered that there were many restrictions. We had to find a suitable, copyright-free soundtrack, which was considerably difficult, but we learnt from the preliminary task that it was more appropriate than composing our own.
In light of this, we found some compromises necessary, but luckily we discovered a website called freesound.org which was a source of a very wide variety of copyright-free sounds, and this provided us with some very effective and suitable pieces.
Youtube
We needed somewhere that we could upload our footage to, in order to allow us to post our preliminary task on our blog, as well as our animatic, our rough cut, and our final production.
By allowing us to put our media products on our blog, we gained useful feedback from our teachers as well as our target audience, and we learnt how we could improve our media products to make them more appealing to the final viewer.
Throughout the production of our coursework project we have picked up several skills using various pieces of technology.
Blogging
We have used this blog, on blogspot.com, to collaborate with all of the tasks from research all the way through to the evaluation. We used it as a tool to organise our concept development, our filming (including our preliminary task and our final production), to keep track of our editing, and as a centre-point for all of our feedback and improvements.
We had to construct and organise our blog in such a way that it would be an asset to our production, rather than a burden. We learnt that, in fact, it was a very useful tool, and without it, our production may have not been organised so easily.
Presentation
In order to present our initial pitch, as well as audience research and research of conventional features of film openings, and more, we used an online presentation tool called Prezi which was more technologically advanced than traditional presentation software such as Microsoft Powerpoint.
We learnt that it would help us to present in a more interesting and structured way, which would help the viewers of the presentation to understand it and give us very helpful feedback, and in turn this ultimately would help us improve the final appearance of our production.Filming
We also learnt the industrial conventions of filming. This includes everything from camera angles, to the settings inside the camera, to the framing of the shots, and more. We learnt that this is often a very time consuming process initially, but in the long-run it saves time and disappointment when we find that the footage we got is actually how we wanted it. The camera angles and techniques helped to convey the narrative of the film opening so they were important to consider. We learnt that the settings inside the camera were very important because they massively affected the appearance of the final footage – for example, we filmed some footage in the graveyard on different exposure and saturation levels to that of the footage in the woods, and we discovered that this gave the footage a very different feel to what we had intended. Fortunately, the camera we used (Nikon D90) gave us the freedom to change such settings, whereas on some, more basic cameras, these settings are unchangeable. Every other element of the footage in the graveyard was as we had planned, and luckily we were able to change the brightness and saturation in the editing software (Adobe Premiere) to similar levels to what we had intended, so not all was lost.
We learnt that the framing of the shots was very important to consider, including the 180 degree rule, the rule of thirds, deep and shallow focus and more, as these help to contribute to the continuity of the footage and help define what the audience actually pays attention to when watching the opening.
We used focus pulling to make the viewer pay more attention
to the antagonist who was at the rear of the shot in the distance.
Editing
The editing software we used proved to be a very useful tool for us. We used it to produce and organise the sequence of shots we see in our preliminary task, as well as producing the animatic of our final opening, the rough cut, and finally the film opening.
Personally, I had used the software previously - but even so, I did not have as much experience in it as I had thought, so using the software to produce our media products was a learning curve for me. I learnt how to cut the clips to the desired length, how to rearrange the order of the footage, how to add a soundtrack and - perhaps most importantly – how to make the footage look like a continuous sequence. I also learnt how to fade footage in and out, how to add titles, and how to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue and saturation levels, to name a few.
Soundtrack
For the soundtrack, we discovered that there were many restrictions. We had to find a suitable, copyright-free soundtrack, which was considerably difficult, but we learnt from the preliminary task that it was more appropriate than composing our own.
In light of this, we found some compromises necessary, but luckily we discovered a website called freesound.org which was a source of a very wide variety of copyright-free sounds, and this provided us with some very effective and suitable pieces.
Youtube
We needed somewhere that we could upload our footage to, in order to allow us to post our preliminary task on our blog, as well as our animatic, our rough cut, and our final production.
By allowing us to put our media products on our blog, we gained useful feedback from our teachers as well as our target audience, and we learnt how we could improve our media products to make them more appealing to the final viewer.
MP - Evaluation (6)
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?Throughout the media course I have learnt a lot of new technological skills, with the three main ones being blogging, filming and editing.
Firstly we were taught how to blog in a professional and work-styled way. This was to be where all of our research, planning and audience feedback would be posted. Using Blogger meant that we could work collaboratively, and comment on each others posts to improve the blog. One of the most important points made was that of presentation. Stills from our influences had to be constantly included, along with keeping the blog simple to read in short paragraphs rather than essay styled prose. The group definitely learnt that getting the posts uploaded on time was very important if we were to keep the blog in order. The presentation tool 'Prezi' was also introduced to us as an advancement from Microsoft's 'Powerpoint'.
Filming was the next skill I was learning, for which we used a Nikon D90 DSLR. The problem that kept cropping up with this was framing the shots, to make sure that the character in the shot didn't lift their hand out of the frame or something similar. Also, remembering to lock the camera exposure was a big thing, as the brightness would constantly change if this wasn't done, ruining the look of the footage. The 180 degree rule, rule of thirds, and deep or shallow focus were also very useful tools in making our footage seem much more professional.
The final skill that I learnt was editing our raw footage into consistent, continuous video. Adobe Premier was the software tool we were given to use, and I had personally never used it before. I was taught how to add text, fade footage in and out, layer video, and just how ruthless one must be to create continuity. The audio is a big part of the continuity, with the main problem being audio levels, with the volume in one shot suddenly being much louder than the previous shot. After effects for altering our footage also included hue, saturation, brightness and contrast.
The final skill that I learnt was editing our raw footage into consistent, continuous video. Adobe Premier was the software tool we were given to use, and I had personally never used it before. I was taught how to add text, fade footage in and out, layer video, and just how ruthless one must be to create continuity. The audio is a big part of the continuity, with the main problem being audio levels, with the volume in one shot suddenly being much louder than the previous shot. After effects for altering our footage also included hue, saturation, brightness and contrast. Sunday 24 April 2011
DF - Evaluation (6)
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Over the course of the project I have gained experience in many different kinds of technology. Namely: blogging, camera operation and editing, primarily.
The first thing we were introduced to was blogging as we had to put up our initial research on it. This was an interesting way of presenting information - definitely a very different style to that of writing essays which I was used to. This also presented some new challenges - such as how to lay out the blog and posts in a way that was neat, attractive, informative and also consistent in style to the other members of the group. In overcoming these problems we had to take a collaborative approach in order to ensure we all kept our posts consistent and also to ensure they presented the necessary information. In creating the presentations for the pitches, I also learned to use Prezi to keep our presentations different, fresh and interesting.
Camera work was the second major thing to learn as I had never used a camera for a project similar to this before. There were many things to consider such as the 'rule of thirds' which suggests that the focus of a shot should be a third away from the edge of the frame; the white balance, hue, contrast, saturation, brightness and other image changing tools as we had to make sure our shots looked good and also consistent with the rest of the film to help continuity; how to use zoom effectively; what depth of field to use for the best effect and the 180 degree rule for which you have to ensure, for the purpose of continuity, to keep the camera within an arc of 180 degrees during a conversation.
Editing was chronologically the last main technological learning point for me as, again, I had not edited for a project similar to this previously. To edit our footage we used Adobe Premier and in editing our footage I had to learn many things such as how to add text and use text effects such as dissolve, how to edit for good continuity, special effects, editing the zoom and brightness, contrast, hue and saturation of a shot and then also how to use soundtrack effectively and how to sync it successfully. Furthermore, we used Adobe Premier to edit an animatic for which we used as a template for our footage and as a form of storyboarding to plan our project. (Click here to see our animatic).
For our soundtrack we used a copyright-free soundtrack website called Freesound.org. This has a variety of audio loops from songs to sound effects, and we used pieces such as the sound of the birds from the website.
Over the course of the project I have gained experience in many different kinds of technology. Namely: blogging, camera operation and editing, primarily.
The first thing we were introduced to was blogging as we had to put up our initial research on it. This was an interesting way of presenting information - definitely a very different style to that of writing essays which I was used to. This also presented some new challenges - such as how to lay out the blog and posts in a way that was neat, attractive, informative and also consistent in style to the other members of the group. In overcoming these problems we had to take a collaborative approach in order to ensure we all kept our posts consistent and also to ensure they presented the necessary information. In creating the presentations for the pitches, I also learned to use Prezi to keep our presentations different, fresh and interesting.
Camera work was the second major thing to learn as I had never used a camera for a project similar to this before. There were many things to consider such as the 'rule of thirds' which suggests that the focus of a shot should be a third away from the edge of the frame; the white balance, hue, contrast, saturation, brightness and other image changing tools as we had to make sure our shots looked good and also consistent with the rest of the film to help continuity; how to use zoom effectively; what depth of field to use for the best effect and the 180 degree rule for which you have to ensure, for the purpose of continuity, to keep the camera within an arc of 180 degrees during a conversation.
Editing was chronologically the last main technological learning point for me as, again, I had not edited for a project similar to this previously. To edit our footage we used Adobe Premier and in editing our footage I had to learn many things such as how to add text and use text effects such as dissolve, how to edit for good continuity, special effects, editing the zoom and brightness, contrast, hue and saturation of a shot and then also how to use soundtrack effectively and how to sync it successfully. Furthermore, we used Adobe Premier to edit an animatic for which we used as a template for our footage and as a form of storyboarding to plan our project. (Click here to see our animatic).
For our soundtrack we used a copyright-free soundtrack website called Freesound.org. This has a variety of audio loops from songs to sound effects, and we used pieces such as the sound of the birds from the website.
Group - Evaluation (4 & 5)
Who would be the audience for your film? How did you attract/address your audience?
Our target demographic was the core audience - males aged 16 to 25. This is because of our generally conventional narrative and representation. On the business side, this core audience is also the most likely to visit the cinema and purchase synergistic promotional material.
In keeping with this we positioned the audience with the protagonist by showing him on screen first and for the longest screen time as well as using point-of-view shots to put the audience in the protagonist's perspective.
Throughout the project we have presented our ideas at various stages to our target audience. Our first experience of this was the genre pitch in which we pitched to our audience our chosen genre and our justifications for choosing that genre and received feedback on ideas to do with that genre and challenges that we will face in portraying that genre. Our second instance of audience feedback was when we pitched our film idea to the target demographic in order to get feedback on the narrative, soundtrack, etc. We later presented a rough cut of our film to our target audience to get an idea of what we can improve for the final cut.
To test our opening sequence to an audience the media department had a preview screening in which each group invited members of their target audience to come and watch their film and gave their invitees questionnaires to complete to give them an insight into how successful their film will be. The questionnaire we distributed can be found here.
What genre do you think this film belongs to?
Our first question asked what genre they thought it was and why they believed it to be that genre. Out of 11 respondants 4 believed it was a thriller, 3 a horror and 4 were undecided between thriller and horror. The majority of the reasons stated for choosing thriller was the soundtrack ("Music typical of the genre, surprise at the end."). Most of the respondants who picked horror noted the location and the soundtrack of the starting scene - "Opening scene graveyard and music typical of genre."
Do you understand the storyline? (Brief Summary)
Our second question asked the respondants to summarise the storyline to make sure they understood it. Almost everyone said that they either understood it mostly or "sort of" understood. This is possibly a good sign of success in horror as it is conventional of the genre to raise questions and incite mystery in the opening sequence.
What are the best features of this opening?
Our third question asked respondants for what they thought was the "best feature" of the opening was. This was to give us an idea of what the most memorable aspect of the opening was as well as what they as the audience enjoyed most. The vast majority cited the scene in which the antagonist says "How well do you know the woods?" as the best feature because of the mood it gave and how memorable it was. The chase scene was also a popular answer: "Scary chase scene.", "How well do you know the wood?" and tense running scene with Spike appearing."
What mood does the soundtrack set in relation to the opening?
Our fourth question asked what mood the soundtrack gave and almost every respondant wrote "suspense" or similar, such as "something bad about to happen". This is a good indicator that our soundtrack achieved the effect that was intended.
Do you think the characters are believeable and why?
We then asked in our fifth question whether or not the characters were believable and every respondant wrote yes for a variety of reasons including costume, non-verbal language, etc. One answer was "Yes, the limited dialogue also doesn't allow too much speech to detract from the mood."
How suitable do you think the costumes are for this kind of film opening?
Our final question queried the suitability of the costume for the style. Every respondant said that they believed the costume was very suitable for the style - "Suitable, can't think of anything else it would be."
Our target demographic was the core audience - males aged 16 to 25. This is because of our generally conventional narrative and representation. On the business side, this core audience is also the most likely to visit the cinema and purchase synergistic promotional material.
In keeping with this we positioned the audience with the protagonist by showing him on screen first and for the longest screen time as well as using point-of-view shots to put the audience in the protagonist's perspective.
Throughout the project we have presented our ideas at various stages to our target audience. Our first experience of this was the genre pitch in which we pitched to our audience our chosen genre and our justifications for choosing that genre and received feedback on ideas to do with that genre and challenges that we will face in portraying that genre. Our second instance of audience feedback was when we pitched our film idea to the target demographic in order to get feedback on the narrative, soundtrack, etc. We later presented a rough cut of our film to our target audience to get an idea of what we can improve for the final cut.
To test our opening sequence to an audience the media department had a preview screening in which each group invited members of their target audience to come and watch their film and gave their invitees questionnaires to complete to give them an insight into how successful their film will be. The questionnaire we distributed can be found here.
What genre do you think this film belongs to?
Our first question asked what genre they thought it was and why they believed it to be that genre. Out of 11 respondants 4 believed it was a thriller, 3 a horror and 4 were undecided between thriller and horror. The majority of the reasons stated for choosing thriller was the soundtrack ("Music typical of the genre, surprise at the end."). Most of the respondants who picked horror noted the location and the soundtrack of the starting scene - "Opening scene graveyard and music typical of genre."
Do you understand the storyline? (Brief Summary)
Our second question asked the respondants to summarise the storyline to make sure they understood it. Almost everyone said that they either understood it mostly or "sort of" understood. This is possibly a good sign of success in horror as it is conventional of the genre to raise questions and incite mystery in the opening sequence.
What are the best features of this opening?
Our third question asked respondants for what they thought was the "best feature" of the opening was. This was to give us an idea of what the most memorable aspect of the opening was as well as what they as the audience enjoyed most. The vast majority cited the scene in which the antagonist says "How well do you know the woods?" as the best feature because of the mood it gave and how memorable it was. The chase scene was also a popular answer: "Scary chase scene.", "How well do you know the wood?" and tense running scene with Spike appearing."
What mood does the soundtrack set in relation to the opening?
Our fourth question asked what mood the soundtrack gave and almost every respondant wrote "suspense" or similar, such as "something bad about to happen". This is a good indicator that our soundtrack achieved the effect that was intended.
Do you think the characters are believeable and why?
We then asked in our fifth question whether or not the characters were believable and every respondant wrote yes for a variety of reasons including costume, non-verbal language, etc. One answer was "Yes, the limited dialogue also doesn't allow too much speech to detract from the mood."
How suitable do you think the costumes are for this kind of film opening?
Our final question queried the suitability of the costume for the style. Every respondant said that they believed the costume was very suitable for the style - "Suitable, can't think of anything else it would be."
MP - Audience Questionnaire
This is the questionnaire that we will use after the audience screening, to gain an insight into how good our production is in terms of fitting with genre, making sense to the audience etc.
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